The Sermon on the Mount
Hi there parents! Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith while we can't be meeting weekly during this time. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20).
As we begin to gather together again in person, I want to assure you that I will continue to publish this blog to keep our little ones engaged in the gospel until we can meet again for children's church.
May I encourage you with a verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures? Chapter 6 verse 9 says, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are to young to sit for that long. Take the key points and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day to day. Be blessed this week my friends!
Each week we will include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson so you can read directly from it or change it up to suit your children. Take a few moments to print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and review the lesson so you can make adjustments as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you'd like or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you! You can reach out to me at friendshipkids@fcbc.church.
So let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives during this time at home? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers?
Parents share your blessings and bummers, and encourage the kids to do the same. Here is mine. Being able to return to my church home and worship together on Sunday mornings has been a huge blessing to me. I have missed everyone so much. It has been so nice to see some people the last 2 weeks.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, we love you Lord. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to look to you in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen. (please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)
Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! Today we are going to learn about when Jesus taught His most famous sermon. It is known as the Sermon on the Mount. But first I want to talk about what makes us feel happy? Ice cream makes me happy. Riding my horses makes me happy. What makes you happy? Allow the kids to share. Feeling happy is nice. Lots of circumstances can make us feel happy. Today, we will learn about something that is deeper than happiness: joy. The Bible teaches us that we can have joy in Jesus even when we feel sad. Does that surprise you? We’ll talk more about it soon. Let's get started now with an activity.
As we get to the story, let’s take another look at the big picture question.
As we begin learning about Jesus’ teachings, we will focus on a new big picture question. What did Jesus teach when He was on earth? As you listen to today’s story, you should get a pretty good idea about the answer. We’ll review the answer later.
In the beginning, God created the whole universe, and everything was perfectly good. Sadly, things didn’t stay good for long. Adam and Eve chose to reject God’s authority, and their disobedience brought sin, sadness, and death into the world. Thankfully, God had a plan to rescue people from sin and undo the damage sin causes.
In the last unit, you learned about Jesus’ healing of people with all kinds of issues. Jesus healed people who could not walk or could not see; He even raised people who were dead! Although Jesus cared for people’s physical needs, He also wanted people to know God. That’s why He spent time teaching.
Let's watch today's video to learn more:
This story comes from one of the most famous passages in the Bible. Jesus taught people how to live in God’s kingdom. Jesus cared not only about people’s physical needs, but also about their spiritual needs. The blessings Jesus taught about were very different from the kinds of things the world usually thinks of as blessings. In a way, God’s kingdom is backward from what the world thinks a kingdom should be.
The religious leaders thought that the key to being with God was obeying all the rules. They thought that if they looked very special and holy, they could earn God’s love. Jesus was teaching the opposite. God loves all of us, but we cannot obey perfectly. Even our thoughts are sinful sometimes.
We usually pay attention to what’s on the outside, but Jesus was teaching that what’s on the inside is just as important. God doesn’t want us to do good things to glorify ourselves but to glorify Him. Without God’s help, we could never honor God with our lives. Thankfully, God sent help.
So, let’s answer our big picture question. What did Jesus teach when He was on earth? Jesus taught about God and His kingdom. He taught that all Scripture is about Him.
Jesus taught people what it means to follow Him. He taught how people should live, how they should treat one another, and how to love God. People who trust in Jesus live to honor God and show what His kingdom is like.
When we have faith in Jesus, we are part of God’s kingdom. That changes everything about us. We begin to look more like Jesus in the way we behave and how we treat others. We love people even when they treat us wrongly, and we care more about God’s glory than our own.
Bible Time!
Help kids find Matthew 5. Ask someone to tell you which book comes directly before and directly after Matthew. (Malachi and Mark, respectively) Remind the kids that the Gospels (Matthew–John) are the first four books in the New Testament.
Ask the following questions. Lead the kids to discuss:
Why did Jesus say those who mourn are blessed? (because they will be comforted, Matt. 5:4)
What did Jesus compare believers to? (salt and light, Matt. 5:13-16)
What did Jesus come to do with the law? (obey it perfectly, not get rid of it; Matt. 5:17)
What are some ways God’s kingdom is different from worldly kingdoms? Guide kids to give examples about how God’s kingdom is the opposite of what our hearts naturally desire. In God’s kingdom, we love our enemies and consider ourselves blessed even in difficult or sad times. We give generously even to those who cannot repay. We trust in God instead of ourselves, and we do good to glorify God, not to look good in front of others.
Why does God care so much about what’s in our hearts? Help kids understand that sinful actions always begin as sinful thoughts and desires. Remind them that it is not enough to simply avoid doing bad things. Obedience to God means we do not even think evil thoughts. Help them see that we need Jesus because only He can meet God’s standard of perfection.
Where did Jesus’ authority to teach come from? Guide kids to think about Jesus’ identity as God the Son. Remind them that He was present at creation and that He is the King of kings. His words are God’s own words. His teaching is perfect.
Say • Jesus taught people how to live in God’s kingdom. We can only enter His kingdom by faith in Jesus. Then God transforms our lives to look like Jesus. We cannot live the way Jesus said to, but Jesus fulfilled the law for us. We are saved by Him alone.
This week we have a new Bible verse to memorize! We will have five weeks to learn this one so don't worry that it's long. We can do it! Here's an activity to help...
Assign to each face of a six sided die a way to read the key passage, such as quietly, loudly, in a deep voice, in a high-pitched voice, in a pirate voice, and in a robot voice. Invite a kid to roll the die and lead the group saying the key passage in the designated way. Play multiple times, allowing other kids to roll and lead.
Say • Jesus spoke our key passage to His disciples before He went to the cross. Jesus wanted them to know what to expect. Jesus knew that they would have trouble remembering all the wonderful things He taught about God and God’s kingdom. That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help us. He lives within us when we have faith in Jesus, and He helps us understand and remember God’s truth.
Let's close in prayer:
Father, thank You that Your kingdom is not like earthly kingdoms. Help us understand Your Word and obey Your commands. Give us wisdom and courage. Help us love You more each day. Amen.
*If anyone reading this has questions about being born again, eternal life with Jesus, or God's love for us please feel free to contact the church at fcbc@fcbc.church and someone will get back with you for help.*
